


Once Upon a Time in Outer Space

by thegriffin88



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: A space dragon and a kid muse about the universe, Best tag for him, Bloody Great Force Dragons, Character Study, Existentialism, Gen, Kylo gets lonely and talks to his invisible dragon, Like Pete's Dragon but in space, darth tantrum, tags will grow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-03-31 17:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13979904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegriffin88/pseuds/thegriffin88
Summary: For most of his life, Kylo-Ren has been the focus of one Dria-Khan, a member of a race of sapient pure energy. Sometimes, alone at night on the Finalizer (and possibly other locations) he talks to her and they attempt to understand the universe together. A very existential, philosophical piece about life and other things. See the notes at the end of the first chapter if you want to know exactly what a Khan is.





	1. Not your Grandfather

                The first time he met her, truly met her, was when he was undergoing a particularly difficult part of Snoke’s training. He had been locked in the sensory deprivation chamber for three days, meditating. No food or water, he would either find himself or death. In truth, Kylo had been hoping to find his Grandfather. He was in for quite a shock.

                He felt an energy, a force signature. He allowed it to connect to him, his heart racing in the hopes of finally being able to talk to Vader. Kylo opened his eyes only to find himself in a dark void; in front of him was what he could only describe as a dragon. Not an alien creature like a Rancor or Krayt Dragon, a true dragon out of human mythology. Its neck was long, horns protruded from its head to which a billowing frill was attached. Four diaphanous wings were attached to its back and it had a long, forked tail. It glowed with an ethereal presence.

                “Hello Benji.” It said, the voice distinctly female and strangely familiar.

                Kylo just stared. That name, he hadn’t heard it in a long time. A very long time. A time he was trying his hardest to forget and this, this _thing_ had just about undone that with a simple greeting.

                “What are you?” Kylo asked, nearly stunned into submission.

                “My name is Dria-Khan today.” the creature smiled, as if that were a perfectly normal statement. “I am of the Khan, we are beings of pure energy, formed at the birth of this universe. I have been watching you for quite a while now, Benji.”

                “Stop calling me that!” Kylo snapped. The dragon, this Dria-Khan, only made a tittering sound.

                “Oh yes, you go by Kylo-Ren now, the fearsome leader of the Knights of Ren.” she smirked.

                That sarcasm, he very nearly was certain he could place it. But he had never seen this creature before in his life.

                “Benji,” Dria-Khan said, “It’s time we had a talk. A talk of many things, of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages, and kings.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dria-Khan is, as she says she is, a being of pure sapient energy. Any form she takes is not her true form as her true form is invisible to just about everyone. Unfathomably old Dria is also complicated by the fact that she exists outside of time. She will 'remember' things past and future seemingly at random. Things from all manner of different universes too. These things creep into her speech patterns, you can tell when she quotes things in or out of context. She does not realize that she does this, no matter how jarring it is to others. Unlike most of her kind, however, Dria has taken to studying mortals who appear as fleeting as the life of a Mayfly to the rest of the Khan. (except for one but you meet him later) She has taken on multiple mortal forms throughout her years, something her kind never do more than once. Because when you are immortal energy, suddenly deciding to be mortal for a time is both binding (unless she offs herself she cannot simply shed her mortal form) and painful. They suddenly feel the burning pain of every cell in their body dying and being reborn again. We are used to it, but this sensation is quite new and horrible for them to experience so most only ever try it once, Dria being the exception. Her dragon form is flexible, she can become bigger or smaller, phase through walls, float in mid-air, has no need for food, drink or oxygen. Dria's dragon form is unique, as are all Khan forms no two are alike. Well, except for the 'twins'. But you'll see them later on.
> 
> This collection of stories will attempt to answer most of your questions as it goes on.


	2. Lonely Planet, Bright Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dria tells Kylo about her first and last meeting with his Grandfather.

“You remember, back at the academy, they used to tell us to let the force guide us, not to try and control it? Are you the reason they told us that?”

                “Yes and no. Not all energy is Khan, but the most powerful energy is. We are as old as this universe, you cannot control us. You can’t even comprehend most of us.”

                “Yet here I am, talking to a bloody great force dragon that’s been stalking me for years.”

                Dria-Kahn laughed, it sounded like the tinkling of many glass bells.

                “Not just you Benji, my Bright Star. I watched your grandfather as well.”

                Ren turned to look at his companion.

                “You…you knew my grandfather? You knew Vader?”

                Dria-Kahn scratched her chin with a claw, a purely emotional gesture as she had no skin to itch.

                “Not as well as I know you. His Star was just as bright, but he refused to see me, even when I tried to reveal myself to him.”

                “Where? What happened?”

                “It was long ago, quite far from here, or perhaps only a jump away.” Dria-Kahn replied, getting that sparkling in her eyes that appeared whenever she contemplated space and time in mortal terms. “He was still Anakin, finishing a mission on some lonely planet. During what you called the Clone Wars. The sun was just setting and I followed him out of the forest. I had been following him for quite some time you see, he was very bright, but the light was harsh. Your light is softer, it does not hurt to behold it.”

                “I thought brighter was better.”

                “Brighter is brighter.” Dria-Kahn answered cryptically. “But, back to this lonely planet and your beloved grandfather. I tried to let him know of my presence, the way I did with you. I let my energy be known to mortals, and he did notice it. He looked back to me, eyes searching, scanning the tree-line. But, ultimately, he turned his back on me.”

                “He couldn’t see you?”

                “He didn’t want to see me. He could not comprehend me. Sometimes I wonder if I was too late in his life, if he had already become hardened to the world, lacking a sense of wonder and belief. You were able to see me behind the Veil because you still have that sense of wonder. You are young yet, my Bright Star, and I am eager to see what lies ahead for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dria also attempted to contact Luke, but only after Vader was dead. Probably too preoccupied with putting the universe back together, Luke did not notice Dria, or could not pick her out from the various force related signals he was picking up. This is not the last time Vader will come up, as of course once Kylo finds out that Dria had watched him he attempts to get any and all information on him out of her. The time gap between the original trilogy and the current sequels is but a blink of an eye in time for the Khan. Dria has floated along, obliviously, as civilizations rose and fell in what seems like a second to her unless she truly concentrates and anchors herself to a mortal, and even then time still flows so fast for her. 30 years is but a heartbeat. 
> 
> Dria calls Kylo 'Bright Star' on occasion because that is how Khan perceive, or at least one in particular perceives, the energy of a mortal life. As a star, either bright or faint. You'll meet this other Khan in another tale. 
> 
> It's also not the first time Dria has not only inserted herself into the Skywalker bloodline, but Kylo's life in particular. Kylo knows of one of her mortal forms, but the second comes as quite a shock. It's from when she started calling him 'Benji'. (and wouldn't let up so he just gave up trying to make an eons old energy being stop doing something.)


	3. Manners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I mean, who didn't love that scene? Shirtless Adam Driver getting told by Daisy Ridley, hysterical. Of course Dria has to weigh in, being the omnipotent and nosy creature she is.

On the other end of the Force Bond, Rey scoffs.

“Could you put a tunic on?”

Confused and unsure, Kylo stares at her blankly.

“Manners Benji there are ladies present.” Dria titters behind him.

Rey startles. “You can see her?”

“ _You_ can see her?” Kylo repeats.

Dria laughs and steps through the Force Connection to wherever Rey is. Some hovel on a distant planet it looks like.

“Yes my darling dears I am connected to both of you. Sometimes even at once.” she says.

“How long have you known him?” Rey asks incredulously.

“Longer than you; as much as you’ll loath that fact.” Dria sighs. “His parentage made for an easier connection. I’d been watching his grandfather you see. His star burns bright, it caught the attention of my brother and I.”

“Then her, what drew you to her? Is her lineage something special?” Kylo almost growled. He’d learned that growling at Dria got him nowhere and rarely wasted the effort anymore.

“No, it happened when she touched that lightsaber at her side. The one she used to carve open your handsome little face.” Dria smirked.

Kahn cared not for appearances, given that they had none to begin with. Dria took a particular interest in how the mortal races saw themselves and did have a habit of gloating when one saw themselves as marred. Kylo was the current brunt of her digging and his face twisted into a snarl to let her know she was pushing too far, especially now when he was somehow connected to this girl that had seemingly stumbled upon such great power.

“Did you connect us?” Rey asked.

“No, although it would have been an interesting experiment I might do it in the future, should I remember to do so.” Dria sighed, wrapping her tail around Rey in an almost motherly manner, or perhaps an afterthought it was almost impossible to tell with her. “You know,” she said with a toothy grin, “when he was recovering from that blow to his ego he kept calling your name.”

“We’re done here.” Kylo snapped, his anger burning up the connection and shutting both Rey and Dria out of his mind, at least for the moment.

Dria laughed aloud this time, ringing and raucous. Rey was almost sure Master Skywalker would hear her.

“Oh that Bright Star does hate when I remind him of his own humanity. But there is no shortage of faults to be found amongst ye stars. You’d best remember that Child of the Nebula.”

And Rey had to wonder if Kylo…if Ben found her as vague as she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dria could forcibly connect any two or more mortal creatures she pleases with a force bond it's just never occurred to her to do so since she rarely keeps up with mortals. To put it mildly, the last time she looked away the Roman Civilization rose and fell. This is the first time in a long time more than one mortal has kept her focus. At the end she vaguely quotes a memory of a line in A Fault in Our Stars which to her seems to suit the situation just fine since she and all Dria perceive mortals as 'stars'. Rey's star is neither bright nor dim, it merely appeared one day hence the reason she calls her 'Child of the Nebula', a Nebula being a place where stars are born. Her star flashed bright enough when she touched that lightsaber for Dria to take notice and fold her into her little collection of 'interesting mortals'. 
> 
> Upcoming related bits: Dria during Kylo's recovery after the end of The Force Awakens and Dria letting someone see her who normally shouldn't see anything even close to a Kahn.

**Author's Note:**

> Dria-Khan is, as she says she is, a being of pure sapient energy. Any form she takes is not her true form as her true form is invisible to just about everyone. Unfathomably old Dria is also complicated by the fact that she exists outside of time. She will 'remember' things past and future seemingly at random. Things from all manner of different universes too. These things creep into her speech patterns, you can tell when she quotes things in or out of context. She does not realize that she does this, no matter how jarring it is to others. Unlike most of her kind, however, Dria has taken to studying mortals who appear as fleeting as the life of a Mayfly to the rest of the Khan. (except for one but you meet him later) She has taken on multiple mortal forms throughout her years, something her kind never do more than once. Because when you are immortal energy, suddenly deciding to be mortal for a time is both binding (unless she offs herself she cannot simply shed her mortal form) and painful. They suddenly feel the burning pain of every cell in their body dying and being reborn again. We are used to it, but this sensation is quite new and horrible for them to experience so most only ever try it once, Dria being the exception. Her dragon form is flexible, she can become bigger or smaller, phase through walls, float in mid-air, has no need for food, drink or oxygen. Dria's dragon form is unique, as are all Khan forms no two are alike. Well, except for the 'twins'. But you'll see them later on. 
> 
> This collection of stories will attempt to answer most of your questions as it goes on.


End file.
